Hakeem Baba’s 380th Urs-Sharif celebrated

Jubilee Hills: The annual Urs-Sharif at Syed Nizamuddin Ahmad Gilani or Hakeem Baba’s Dargah was celebrated for 380th time at Jubilee Hills, here on Monday. The prestigious annual event invites hundreds of devotees from the city and neighbouring states of Maharashtra and Karnataka.

Many visitors come here from Maharashtra since Hakeem Baba originally came from Maharashtra to Deccan. He was the chief Hakeem of Qutub Shahi family and has treated many people here on this hillock in his Shifa Khana or Unani hospital,” says Mohammed Amjed, one of the devotees from Maharashtra. The three-day carnival of Urs-Sharif is a celebration for locals. Over a hundred community weddings for the needy have happened in the past two decades. “People come here to with offerings, chant prayers and sing Qawwali.

Reminding the Sufi traditions of our country, devotees here offer coconuts, incense sticks and offer Mauli as a sign of bond. These rituals are usually observed in Hindu culture and are against the conservative Islam, and yet is exists as a mark of blending cultures,” said Unani medicine practitioner, Maulana Nazeem Uddin. During the Urs-Sharif the shrine is decorated with floral chadar and the tomb is illuminated with decorative lights.

The carnival brings amusement games like giant wheels, oscillating ship and a wall of death. Apart from this a wide variety of eateries and market for shopping, includes jewellery, antiquities, crockery and apparels. Some come here for shopping while some in search of hope. “I came here to pray for my son’s recovery who had met with an accident,” said Nausheen Fathima. The Dargah community members Masood Qureshi, said “It is one of the oldest shrines in the city apart from tomb and shrine, there is a 400-year-old Sama Khana (Qawwali Hall) and Shifa Khana (Unani Hospital) located near the tomb of Hakeem Baba.”

BY Mayank Tiwari